tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32660120391767337562017-11-09T04:33:40.885-08:00Michael Blackbourn - artist and authorParking spot for pixels and text from the brain of Michael Blackbourn.Michael Blackbournnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-38703139014713706662017-09-16T07:53:00.004-07:002017-09-16T07:54:45.093-07:00The Dabbing Mentos YetiSo a few months ago we wrapped up this commercial for Mentos, I was a co-director and visual effects supervisor for the work:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7FrbGw8fIWc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7FrbGw8fIWc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><br />It's rocked up to ten million views on youtube. Which is pretty awesome. And even if the dabbing yeti isn't your thing, the fact that people were talking about it, sharing it, and even mocking or hating on it meant a lot of people saw it.<br /><br />I hope we get to do more with these little critters.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jn4sETCG4dE/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jn4sETCG4dE/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-18527789762917694802017-04-18T18:28:00.001-07:002017-04-19T08:31:55.583-07:00Promo for Krypton onlineI was the CG supervisor for a few sequences of this show. Looks great to see it all finished and the promo seems to tease a pretty good show. Good job to everyone involved.<br /><br />See 00:56 and 00:59 for some of the work I was involved with. The small hovercraft ship.<br /><br />EDIT: Looks like the promo was leaked and it has been taken down for now. As soon as an official link goes up I'll add it back here.<br /><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-12576149610942991752017-03-13T08:20:00.003-07:002017-03-13T08:20:53.460-07:00New Short story Released! Cursor BlinkIt's a short tale about the dangers of communicating with a super intelligent AI. I tried to hilight the vast difference in scale between our thought processes and how quickly a machine intelligence might think.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JRyqOzhGOS4/WMa4HbE4lEI/AAAAAAAAWAk/DAtMrN4aOaABb9o79CnpuMwGQYFy_rNfgCLcB/s1600/cursorblink_cover_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JRyqOzhGOS4/WMa4HbE4lEI/AAAAAAAAWAk/DAtMrN4aOaABb9o79CnpuMwGQYFy_rNfgCLcB/s320/cursorblink_cover_final.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />It's loosely connected to my other Roko books and could be considered Roko Zero.<br /><br />Check it out!<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cursor-Blink-Roko-Book-0-ebook/dp/B06XJ8S329/">https://www.amazon.com/Cursor-Blink-Roko-Book-0-ebook/dp/B06XJ8S329/</a>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-8129874622659836382017-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:002017-02-09T08:23:04.263-08:00Stunning Behind-the-scenes look at our Nissan Snowmen commercialWow. Check this out. Here is the commercial we did for Nissan: <br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/198760988?portrait=0" width="540" height="304" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe><p><a href="https://vimeo.com/198760988">Nissan Rogue - Return of the Snowman</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/theembassyvfx">The Embassy</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />And here is the making-of version. Shot in August in hot weather on a parking lot full of salt we transformed the footage into something to send chills down your spine. Fantastic work from everyone on the team, I'm very proud to have been a part of this.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/203166374?portrait=0" width="540" height="304" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe><p><a href="https://vimeo.com/203166374">Nissan Return of the Snowman: Behind the Scenes</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/theembassyvfx">The Embassy</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-17173964051452210802017-01-01T13:04:00.001-08:002017-01-01T13:04:39.312-08:00Killer Nissan commercial I worked on.<p dir="ltr">The footage for this spot was shot in August in a parking lot with a little bit of Salt on the ground to stand in for snow.</p><p dir="ltr">We replaced most of the environment in every shot, added more cars, and created the snowmen.</p><p dir="ltr">One of the best commercials that Ive been fortunate enough to work on. The entire team did an amazing job.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">https://www.youtube.com/shared?</a><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">ci</a><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">=</a><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">PJVe4O4uFp0</a></p>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-25716212993551181772016-12-15T20:39:00.001-08:002016-12-15T20:40:17.206-08:00Roko's Labyrinth - free to download Dec 16, 17, 18My SciFi novella Roko's Labyrinth is free on Amazon Kindle or Kindle Unlimited on December 16th, 17th, and 18th.<br /><br />The story is set in a broken world, a post-AI time when the struggle for who will control the future, the machines or humankind will be decided by an unlikely hero.<br /><br />The Kindle app works on all devices and it's a great help to indie authors to climb the Amazon charts with free downloads. Please grab a copy and tell your friends. Or I'll tell Santa on you.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rokos-Labyrinth-Michael-Blackbourn-ebook/dp/B01J34SUSW/">https://www.amazon.com/Rokos-Labyrinth-Michael-Blackbourn-ebook/dp/B01J34SUSW/</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X5rhUWqNl3I/V5b968B9RAI/AAAAAAAAH4g/4Fri1hbNFzcPm6iUi-QACBWxODnLbvL6wCPcB/s1600/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X5rhUWqNl3I/V5b968B9RAI/AAAAAAAAH4g/4Fri1hbNFzcPm6iUi-QACBWxODnLbvL6wCPcB/s320/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-76873870128712662382016-12-06T08:41:00.006-08:002016-12-06T08:45:06.492-08:00Winter wonderland<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aoojt8hwWgg/WEbqEsd2YkI/AAAAAAAAI-g/oOiKrVinqn0DiBNBUKwi6erVZKFZ9YNPgCLcB/s1600/IMG_20161205_091957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aoojt8hwWgg/WEbqEsd2YkI/AAAAAAAAI-g/oOiKrVinqn0DiBNBUKwi6erVZKFZ9YNPgCLcB/s320/IMG_20161205_091957.jpg" width="320" /></a>The other morning I shot a couple great pics with my cell phone while waiting for road crews to plow and salt<br /><br />I had to wait a short walk from a beach and so I out I went to the shoreline and shot the snow blanketed seascape.<br /><br />I really like how the contrast of the snow against the shoreline and dark wood of the trees came through. Especially considering these are color photographs.<br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1F94rumJwTk/WEbqEeiV9UI/AAAAAAAAI-c/SDKZu4z1i04XQ1fZFMuzc06kyVuh71jTwCLcB/s1600/IMG_20161205_092007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1F94rumJwTk/WEbqEeiV9UI/AAAAAAAAI-c/SDKZu4z1i04XQ1fZFMuzc06kyVuh71jTwCLcB/s400/IMG_20161205_092007.jpg" width="400" /></a>The following morning had already melted the snow from the rocks, making this particular view a fleeting one that I was lucky to capture.Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-9995594444523997792016-11-29T08:25:00.001-08:002016-11-29T08:25:21.977-08:00BMW filmsSo over the summer I was fortunate enough to work on the new BMW short film by Neill Blomkamp.<br /><br />It features a helicopter that gets a rough treatment by an concrete overpass as Clive Owen takes it for a spin. For the sequence we created a CG helicopter and digital doubles of two of the actors, one of them the bearded version of The Punisher from Daredevil,.<br /><br />Check it out, it's a fun ride from start to finish!<br /><br /><a href="http://bmwfilms.com/film" target="_blank">http://bmwfilms.com/film</a><br /><br /><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-25824528118530729602016-08-03T10:19:00.002-07:002016-08-03T10:19:56.564-07:00Great review of Roko's BasiliskGreat review of Roko's Basilisk. Captures why I wrote it, to tell a ghost story for gen-internet. One that, should we create advanced AI, could be true!<br /><br />Summoning your own savior is not for the faint of heart.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hl7i2FRoRd8/V5b967WIeXI/AAAAAAAAH4g/xYCqQu1GA5INkuTkbycbo9xu-mk8y_HwQCPcB/s1600/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hl7i2FRoRd8/V5b967WIeXI/AAAAAAAAH4g/xYCqQu1GA5INkuTkbycbo9xu-mk8y_HwQCPcB/s320/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://intothedragonscave.blogspot.ca/2016/08/rokos-basilisk-random-encounters-16.html">https://intothedragonscave.blogspot.ca/2016/08/rokos-basilisk-random-encounters-16.html</a>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-54295362171248910572016-07-25T23:22:00.000-07:002016-07-26T06:25:49.572-07:00Short story cover reveal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here they are... The covers for my pair of short stories / novellas about Roko Kasun, a genius AI programmer and the consequences he faces by being the architect of a super-intelligent machine mind.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Both are 0.99$ on Amazon Kindle or free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. Click here for the link to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DISRN0A" target="_blank">Basilisk</a>. The link to Labyrinth is also now live: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01J34SUSW" target="_blank">Labyrinth</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hl7i2FRoRd8/V5b967WIeXI/AAAAAAAAH4U/YAZXg7F44p0oWjYZOqaSDO04Oun2ADfdQCLcB/s1600/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hl7i2FRoRd8/V5b967WIeXI/AAAAAAAAH4U/YAZXg7F44p0oWjYZOqaSDO04Oun2ADfdQCLcB/s320/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5rhUWqNl3I/V5b968B9RAI/AAAAAAAAH4Y/wagWD29YenU3Eid2hV75zkKL6rBQZSp6QCLcB/s1600/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5rhUWqNl3I/V5b968B9RAI/AAAAAAAAH4Y/wagWD29YenU3Eid2hV75zkKL6rBQZSp6QCLcB/s320/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Each story is its own little twilight-zone style contained episode. You really don't need to read one, then the other. But you can. And you should!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hit me up on twitter and let me know what you thought. <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn" target="_blank">Take me to Michael's Twitter Page, Now!</a></div>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-2147115588636495582016-05-29T14:19:00.001-07:002016-05-29T14:21:15.058-07:00An amazing review of Roko's BasiliskAn amazing review of my short story Roko's Basilisk. Honestly I'm stunned by the praise.<br /><br />Link to the blog post:<br /><a href="http://www.otherworldsthanthese.co.uk/rokos-basilisk-review/">http://www.otherworldsthanthese.co.uk/rokos-basilisk-review/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/otherworldsblog/status/737023376611520512">https://twitter.com/otherworldsblog/status/737023376611520512</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GyfCm2hMfVk/V0tcbYuaMOI/AAAAAAAAH1o/PP_VOKLxfHM5VHXBsmpbBIzI1zF283pHgCLcB/s1600/IMG_20160529_141513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GyfCm2hMfVk/V0tcbYuaMOI/AAAAAAAAH1o/PP_VOKLxfHM5VHXBsmpbBIzI1zF283pHgCLcB/s320/IMG_20160529_141513.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-7757084337602673902016-03-22T22:10:00.002-07:002016-03-22T22:12:41.230-07:00MockingJay 2 VFX breakdownHere is the breakdowns (behind the scenes) for the work we did at The Embassy for MockingJay 2.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.artofvfx.com/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-vfx-breakdown-by-the-embassy/">http://www.artofvfx.com/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-vfx-breakdown-by-the-embassy/</a>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-79293894889143533082016-03-22T22:07:00.000-07:002016-03-22T22:07:13.527-07:00Work in progress coverThis is for a short story I'll be publishing soon. It's the first of (at least) 2 stories about the rise of AI, and how it effects the people close to the event.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Smc55SmBIFY/VvIkYt9t-LI/AAAAAAAAHsM/WCqVfapHsAA3CPB79l5HGSRnWDX2xlfYg/s1600/IMG_20160322_210455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Smc55SmBIFY/VvIkYt9t-LI/AAAAAAAAHsM/WCqVfapHsAA3CPB79l5HGSRnWDX2xlfYg/s320/IMG_20160322_210455.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-36095163185884991402016-02-06T09:58:00.001-08:002016-02-06T09:58:10.363-08:00Nissan Commercial for the SuperBowlHere is a Nissan Canada commercial we did for the Super Bowl.<br /><br />It was a lot of fun to work on and the team did a great job with the rock monsters and mud monsters. I hope we get more work like this in the future.<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s0CmkAkoO3I/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s0CmkAkoO3I?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-70212821665947379222016-02-02T08:18:00.002-08:002016-02-02T08:18:30.451-08:00UpdateI've been quiet on here for the last little while. It was a busy end of year 2015 and that took my focus off my writing for a bit. I'm getting back into my two short stories I've been trying to finish and will hopefully have them all finished in the next month or two. Everything takes longer than I usually.<br /><br />The first of the two sorts is basically done. It's the second that needs another big pass of editing to polish it up.<br /><br />I worked on three big projects at work in 2015. Mocking Jay part 2, Disney Playmation, and the 5th wave. I learned a lot on all three and still feel incredibly fortunate that my job is to create fantastic images that tell stories on the big screen (Or small screen in the case of Playmation). But we approach advertising weather its on the web or TV with the same passion we do with our film work.Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-45125363107560095062015-11-20T21:18:00.001-08:002015-11-20T21:19:04.876-08:00Fun GIF tweeted about my Mocking Jay 2 work<p dir="ltr">Check it out!</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn/status/667934539461718016">https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn/status/667934539461718016</a></p>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-64881062345659526862015-07-21T13:44:00.003-07:002015-07-21T13:44:41.303-07:00Stash article on the work for Disney PlaymationGreat article on the spot I worked on for Disney Playmation with a cool behind the scenes video! Check it out.<br /><br />Article:<br /><a href="http://www.stashmedia.tv/?p=24545">http://www.stashmedia.tv/?p=24545</a><br /><br />Video:<br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/131935624">https://vimeo.com/131935624</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ohtqQmx4PXY/Va6vGT3KbpI/AAAAAAAAF-s/zqBE8FRs1SM/s1600/Embassy-Disney-Playmation-STASH-MAGAZINE-960x540.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ohtqQmx4PXY/Va6vGT3KbpI/AAAAAAAAF-s/zqBE8FRs1SM/s320/Embassy-Disney-Playmation-STASH-MAGAZINE-960x540.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-368141119210794102015-07-18T14:31:00.002-07:002015-07-18T14:31:37.865-07:00LabyrinthSo I'm in the middle of writing a follow up to a short story I'm going to publish soon. The next in the series has a labyrinth as a theme, the location it takes place is set in a labyrinth like location... And there is even a question of whether a minotaur like foe lives at the core.<br /><br />Interesting that I found there is a classicly haped labyrinth right near my house. I took my girls out to find it. Beautiful. It's pretty interesting walking the spiral that switches back on itself. A long path compressed into a small space.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X4vRO1nWGeU/VarFj-OBAOI/AAAAAAAAF74/IWPEUz9gsPw/s1600/IMG_20150718_112451357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X4vRO1nWGeU/VarFj-OBAOI/AAAAAAAAF74/IWPEUz9gsPw/s320/IMG_20150718_112451357.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-43949639488578206602015-06-13T21:51:00.002-07:002015-06-13T21:51:56.705-07:00Seeing your work in a bookstoreThis is an amazing feeling. Checking a local bookstore that carries your book and seeing it displayed prominently and with less copies nearby than the last time. Books are being sold. New readers are checking out the work for the first time.<br /><br />Very cool<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehYBWquju6M/VX0H-wWhkzI/AAAAAAAAFgI/QoEp0PAHRKM/s1600/IMG_20150613_155638977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehYBWquju6M/VX0H-wWhkzI/AAAAAAAAFgI/QoEp0PAHRKM/s320/IMG_20150613_155638977.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-13132460288940565152015-06-02T11:04:00.000-07:002015-06-02T12:08:34.294-07:00Disney Playmation Trailer - Marvel and Star Wars combo!Disney just launched the teaser trailer for their new line of interactive toys. <a href="http://www.playmation.com/">Playmation</a>.<br /><br />I'm the CG supervisor that oversaw the creation of the 3d visual effects for the trailer at <a href="http://theembassyvfx.com/">The Embassy VFX</a>. It was a great project to work on and I'm proud of the result and the hard work our team put into creating the exciting visuals. The Star Wars shots are entirely 3d other than the actors on greenscreen, the Marvel sequences are built up on top of some great plate photography with lots of layers of CG characters and effects.<br /><br />Check it out!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SXFz5tUDY38/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SXFz5tUDY38?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sh93mXpCpnI/VW3_Ehy1zQI/AAAAAAAAFZI/Z70e02pO_mU/s1600/IMG_20150602_111102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sh93mXpCpnI/VW3_Ehy1zQI/AAAAAAAAFZI/Z70e02pO_mU/s320/IMG_20150602_111102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-50426062595327073532015-06-01T18:45:00.003-07:002015-06-01T18:45:45.793-07:00Spikes in the graph<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cubicaquarium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/graph-icon3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.cubicaquarium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/graph-icon3.png" /></a></div>Spikes in the graph, one of the most exciting things a self published author can see.<br /><br />Since February I've been a self published author. I have one book up on Amazon as both a kindle ebook and paperback. Once every day or couple of days I check the sales report and see what kind of activity the book has had. Amazon graphs the latest days of activity and you get these spiky colored lines reporting how many books sold.<br /><br />Cindercast: A Tale of Tides hasn't sold much and I don't expect it to, not yet. I really need to get a few more works out there so they can be discovered independently and then cross promote as people look to see what else I may have written. So the graph is usually a pretty flat line.<br /><br />But every now and again it spikes. A fan is born. Or at least I hope a fan is born. From the reviews on Amazon it seems like it's being pretty well received. It's just such a cool thing to know another person is out there reading your words, sharing in the vision you created.<br /><br />Today there was another spike. Thank you mystery reader, I hope you enjoy it.Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-7719564947284111702015-05-31T12:05:00.001-07:002015-05-31T12:05:23.114-07:00ArtRage feature about me and CindercastHere's a little interview I did with the makers of ArtRage, a handy digital paint program. I used it for all the watercolor style shading in Cindercast. It was also where I painted the cover. Excellent software and available for low cost.<br /><br />If you want to know more about the art process for the book head over and check it out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-michael-blackbourn/">http://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-michael-blackbourn/</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.artrage.com/wp-content/uploads/ARLogo-NavBar-2x.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.artrage.com/wp-content/uploads/ARLogo-NavBar-2x.png" /></a></div><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-48854445187668740532015-05-31T09:19:00.002-07:002015-05-31T11:21:06.673-07:00Url and Backgrounds - Indie YellowWow google can be annoying.<br /><br />I was trying to add michaelblackbourn.com as a top level domain for this blog and the've changed their products in annoying ways in the last two years since I setup Cindercast.com<br /><br />So after having to register at another company trying setting up redirect stuff we'll see if it works (It will take a day or two for www.michaelblackbourn.com to creep across all the DNS servers).<br /><br />Now that I've hopefully parked this blog on a domain that is my name I can get down to putting some paint on the walls. For now I've assigned this intense yellow image. It was the least bad of all the choices blogger provides. It's also the color of all indie movie posters:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.indiereign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/yellow_mosaic-600x357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blog.indiereign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/yellow_mosaic-600x357.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />&nbsp;So It's probably a good choice as a placeholder for an artist and indie author.<br /><br />Stay tuned for updates. I'm 10,000 words into a sci-fi short story about the rise of an AI super intelligence and how it will effect the people about to create it.<br /><br /><br />Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-51915838926897512152015-05-26T20:43:00.002-07:002015-05-26T20:43:45.494-07:00Welcome!New Blog for me. This will be a general purpose place to put cool stuff about my books, art, and work.<br /><br />Blog for my illustrated kids book: <a href="http://www.cindercast.com/">www.cindercast.com</a><br /><br />Where I work: <a href="http://www.theembassyvfx.com/">www.theembassyvfx.com</a><br /><br />Stay awhile, stay forever!Michael Blackbournhttps://plus.google.com/110864369775855819645noreply@blogger.com0